


haunting dreams

by lysithias



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, more characters but these are the main three
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26923264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lysithias/pseuds/lysithias
Summary: dimitri and edelgard have known each other since they were kids and when claude came into the picture, the three of them became the best of friends. what happens when dreams of another time start to plague them?
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Claude von Riegan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Edelgard von Hresvelg & Claude von Riegan
Kudos: 7





	haunting dreams

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this has been in my drafts. for so long

“what are you gonna do? cry to your dad?” a group of boys tower over edelgard, laughing at how she cowered in fear. this was a regular occurrence for edelgard, being told off because of her status. most of the time (if not all) she never mentioned her family name, nor did she ever use it to threaten other people. in fact, she wanted to forget about her family name, forget about the responsibilities that she’d have to take over when she finished college. while it seemed early for an eight year old to think that far into the future, when her family kept pushing the ideas on her, she couldn’t help but hate it.

every time she found herself in this type of situation, she always wanted to say something, use her _voice_ to stand up for herself. but that was easier said than done. whenever she tried she always felt herself tense up and her voice get caught in her throat. _how was she supposed to take over of her family’s company like this?_

she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. things had gotten even worse recently at home, with her uncle at home pushing her harder than before (her dad was never the one to push her). everything just felt so _overwhelming_ but she didn’t want anyone to know that. she especially didn’t want the boys in front of her to see her crying because if she did, she knew that they would hang it over her head. her uncle told her that crying was a weakness and you never wanted to show people your weaknesses.

“hey!” she hears another voice come from a distance, and footsteps running through the dirt getting closer. all she knew was that it definitely wasn’t a teacher coming to help her. and she hoped that it wasn’t someone that the rest of the boys knew. the last thing she needed was more people to antagonize her.

“dimitri! you decided to join us after all, huh?” _great, there were more._ edelgard braces herself for more words to be thrown at her.

“teacher, over here!” the boy named dimitri yells to their homeroom teacher and she can hear the boys run away. edelgard feels a hand on her shoulder and she raises her head, expecting to see her teacher who had helped her many times before but was instead met with a boy with golden hair and bright blue eyes, “are you okay?” 

she sits there, wide-eyed, looking around, catching glances of the boys who were in front of her previously, then back at dimitri. she felt mixed emotions about the whole situation. while she was grateful for the blonde for helping her by getting a teacher before recess was over, she also didn’t want _him_ to be the reason for getting bullied. especially since he seemed like he was friends with the boys, “your friends…” she says, looking down at the ground. she didn’t have experience with many friends, but she did have experience with losing them and that feeling was one she never wanted to make anyone feel.

dimitri shook his head, “i don’t want to be friends with people who hurt others,” he held his hand out for her to take and she took it reluctantly, “i’m dimitri, you’re edelgard, right?” she nodded in response as he pulled her up from the ground, “let’s be friends!” he said the words with such ease she felt a bubble of jealousy. if only she could be that direct and charming, maybe she’d have more people around her that genuinely like her instead of using her for her status. so she agreed to be friends with dimitri, wiping away her tears and giving him a half-hearted smile.

when she got home that night she told her uncle she wanted to transfer schools.

* * *

after edelgard transferred schools, things had become more peaceful for her in her school life. her uncle had begrudgingly agreed to let her use a pseudo family name so she wouldn’t encounter any problems. and while she encountered certain people who recognized her (but agreed to stay quiet), her school life had completely turned around. 

she was by no means popular, but she did have a small friend group that she enjoyed being with. most notably were caspar, linhardt, and ferdinand. caspar von bergliez was loud and hyper, but he meant well. she had learned early on into their friendship that he would punch anyone who crosses him or his friends. linhardt von hevring was the total opposite of caspar despite them being childhood friends, but he would always encourage her with his words (and logic). lastly, ferdinand von aegir was the son of a subsidiary company owned by her family company. he was competitive with her, but was genuine with everything else.

her home life was different, though. her uncle had stayed to watch over her, he claimed it was for her wellbeing but even eight year old edelgard at that time could tell that he had a different agenda. since then, he had her meet many different people from subsidiary companies (once she encounter ferdinand again — he almost told caspar incredulously until edelgard stopped him), some her uncle had made clear would be potential ‘marriage suitors’. 

today was no different, or so she thought.

“edelgard, this is dimitri alexandre blaiddyd. he’s the son of our leading competitor, but we want to make tensions between us disappear, so you and dimitri should get familiar with each other,” to say she was shocked to see the blonde-haired boy who had protected her from a group a bullies four years ago was an understatement. and on top of that, there’s was a layer of guilt because instead of sticking to her agreement to be his friend, she ran away from the possibility (there were many reasons why).

“i’m edelgard von hresvelg, it’s nice to meet you,” she did her best to keep her expressions unreadable, bowing to dimitri. if this was a partnership that her uncle wanted her to go through with, it wasn’t like she would have a choice. a familiar hand was placed on her shoulder, meaningless words leaving her uncle’s mouth but she had learned to tune him out. the one thing she did catch before he left was a hushed threat that she better not mess up his plan.

“you should take a seat,” dimitri’s voice cut through her thoughts. he had grown a lot since their last meeting, but then again so had she. walking over to the open seat across from the blonde, she took a seat, grabbing the teacup on her side of the table to drink.

“chamomile,” her words hold no malice, nor curiosity. it _was_ interesting that dimitri, someone who seemed to hold himself well, needed chamomile tea. but maybe he just enjoyed the taste. she took another sip as silence fell between them. what did they need to say? edelgard was sure that if she asked dimitri to convince his parents to talk to her uncle, he would. 

but there was a part of her that felt guilty just asking him. she wasn’t exactly sure what her uncle’s plan was, but it couldn’t possibly be anything good. if she was going to ask, she wanted to make sure he knew everything that she could tell him without getting in too much trouble. a repayment of sorts for what he did for her years prior. 

“i… didn’t think i would see you again,” dimitri’s eyes are downcast, and it didn’t seem like he had any plans to look up at her. was she that scary? “i thought i did something wrong,” his voice was small and a total 180 from what she remembered. she remembered that he was confident. everyone surrounded him but he wasn’t afraid to speak out against people to act as a hero. yet the boy in front of her seemed scared, vulnerable.

maybe the years had been cruel to him.

“no,” edelgard spoke firmly, putting the cup down, “you did nothing wrong. i…” she took a deep breath. if she was going to be honest with anyone, she wouldn’t mind if it was the boy who helped her out (and hubert), “i didn’t want people to know who i was.”

and she didn’t regret it. there were so many times when she would come home after school and immediately go to hubert with tears in her eyes. back then, he always had open arms for her even if her family was the ones who forced him to work for her. but he was a huge support for her growth. she was more confident, determined.

“why?” dimitri seemed unsure of whether or not he should ask her that. but then again, she didn’t expect him to understand how she felt. he had a family name, one that people knew, but it never _hindered_ him. at least not to her knowledge. her family name, von hresvelg, had followed her everywhere. she had been approached by kids whose parents told them to get friendly with her to get an upper hand in status. but those weren’t her friends; she never got invited to hang out with them or to go to their birthday parties. maybe she was destined to hate her family name.

“you wouldn’t understand,” even if she was okay with being open with dimitri, how could she say that to him? his eyes were always bright, smile shining. he was the light that everyone wanted to surround themselves with while she should’ve been a darkness that never saw that light. the odds were against them if they were supposed to be friends. but when did she ever care about that? “how about we start over? i’m edelgard von hresvelg,” she held her hand out.

dimitri looked at her hand for what felt like forever before finally taking it, flashing her that bright smile, “i’m dimitri alexandre blaiddyd.”

* * *

_“edelgard! you… i will kill you!” dimitri was on his knees and hands, surrounded by bodies. his_ kingdom’s _bodies. the sight of soldier’s blood and even dimitri’s right-hand man, lying behind him. it was a sight edelgard wouldn’t forget, “you will know the regret of my father, who was killed for you! of my stepmother, who was slain by her own daughter!” if it wasn’t for the fact that they enemies in a war, edelgard would’ve praised how strong-willed dimitri was to continue, “you will bow your head before all of the lives you trampled for your ideals before you die in misery!”_

_“your obsession with me with appalling. if you were a normal human, you would most certainly have died already.”_

_why had it come to this?_

_it was her fault for starting a war but with limited time, change needed to be made. her vendetta against crests was something she wanted to see through. there was no way she would give up, and not so far into the war. she had just gotten her professor back. she could win this war._

_but it didn’t stop the pain she had felt standing in front of dimitri. a classmate of hers, someone who did care deeply for her and she felt the same. except he was fed lies because of her uncle. he was so hell-bent on having her head, she didn’t have a choice._

_even if she wanted to work things out, he was a liability she couldn’t risk._

_“farewell, king of delusion,” edelgard swung the axe to dimitri’s head—_

edelgard shot up in her bed, sweating. what _was_ that? it was a dream, a nightmare, but it felt too real. almost like she was standing there in that battlefield, looking at dimitri with her axe pointed at him. her attention was on her hands, eyes wide. in her past life, did she start a war? and against dimitri no less. she had heard little bits of history from her family, but she’d never expected the edelgard von hresvelg, the one she was named after, would have started a bloody war for her ideals. 

what _were_ her ideals anyway?

the dream sparked a fear in edelgard. she must’ve been around 20 or 21 when that event happened. and if history ever repeated itself, this was a fate she wanted to prevent. to stand in front of a friend, arguably one of her best friends, and kill him for whatever ideals she had. there couldn’t possibly have been anything so _important_ that she would have to kill dimitri.

she shook her head, this wasn’t the time to think about that. she had to get ready for school.

“edelgard!” she heard dimitri call from the end of the hallway. turning her head to look at the blonde, flashes of her nightmare popped into her brain. the rain, her axe, _dimitri_. instead of responding like she normally did, she instead turned around, stopped to regain her composure. 

if she had had that dream earlier, she wouldn’t have told dimitri what high school she planned to go to. she wouldn’t have tried to be involved anymore. when she hears his footsteps get closer to her, her feet start moving away from him to their next shared class together. she enters the room alone, her hands clutching her binders hard. maybe today she would take a back seat.

when dimitri entered the room, he looked around to find her. the moment his eyes spotted her, he started to move towards her direction before getting stopped by some girls in the class. normally, edelgard would’ve been annoyed that they were going to take her friend for the time they were in class, but today she couldn’t have been more relieved. 

normally, she was a diligent student. she paid attention, she answered questions, but her attention was elsewhere this time. that was, until she heard her name, “like our edelgard here,” at first she was scared. what was the question? what were they even talking about? “emperor edelgard started the war when she was only 17,” _emperor edelgard_.

she was immersed into the lecture, listening to her teacher. how their current school used to be that officer’s academy that she went to before they changed it to be for anyone and everyone instead of people of status. she listened to how emperor edelgard went under the name flame emperor for a while to protect her identity against the church of seiros. how emperor edelgard had a hatred for crests, enough to start a war.

“there were many battles that emperor edelgard and her beloved black eagles strike force went through together. the most notable ones would be the battle to capture derdriu and the battle at tailtean plains,” the professor continued, “the battle to capture derdriu was against her former classmate claude von riegan,” they motioned to claude, a classmate of edelgard’s, “and emperor edelgard. she decided to spare him as long as he gave up derdriu. he agreed and then fled to his home country, almyra.”

“the battle of tailtean plains was different. emperor edelgard believed she didn’t have a choice fighting dimitri because her uncle had been manipulating him and had used her axe to cut his head off,” a flash of her nightmare popped up again in her head, “it’s pretty funny how we have both a claude von reigen and a dimitri alexandre blaiddyd in this class. not to mention we have an edelgard as well, but not an edelgard von hresvelg,” _if only you knew_.

as if on cue, the bell rang and the teacher said a quick reminder about their homework before all of them left. edelgard did her best to leave quickly to avoid dimitri and while she was successful, she failed to notice claude take up the space next to her.

“so edelgard, do you want to tell me why dimitri and you are fighting?” of course _he_ would notice. claude was a mutual friend of theirs who they met when they started going to garreg mach high school, a high school with everyone from different backgrounds. he paid close attention to his surroundings, but edelgard would label him as mischievous too.

despite his small-scale pranks, he was a good friend. whenever it was needed, he would listen. but his curious nature always had to make an appearance one way or another. if she mentioned anything about her dreams, he would dig through anything he could to find out the _truth,_ whether good or bad. 

“do you think the us today were reborn from the claude, dimitri, and edelgard from history class?” she questioned her friend as they walked to their next class. it had been bugging her since before class, and more so after. to have all of them together in the old garreg mach school, similar in age, _and_ with the same names. it seemed too much of a coincidence.

“maybe,” claude mused, “if you were a von hresvelg i could believe it,” edelgard rolled her eyes at the comment. she had never told claude outright that she was a von hresvelg, but at some point she didn’t have to. he was clever, and he had figured it out on his own, but he always tried to get it out of her explicitly. instead, she just pushed claude lightly and he laughed, “alright, alright. i do think it’s possible, but names are just names. for all you know, we could’ve all been named after our ancestors.”

edelgard hummed in acknowledgement, he had a point. but what are the chances that they were _all_ named after their ancestors around the same time? her name wasn’t common at all, and dimitri’s was less common that people might think. claude was the only one with a common name. but there was more that she was curious about. not only was it their names that were then same, it was the fact that they were all connected again. especially back at the former garreg mach monastery. 

a part of her feared that she would do something similar to emperor edelgard within the next year.

“i think you’re thinking too much about it, princess,” claude brings his arms behind his head, “even if we were reincarnated from them, it doesn’t mean we’re bound to do what they did,” he stopped in his tracks, arms falling to his sides, “their war got us to this point, so i would stop worrying. and if this is the reason why you’ve been avoiding dimitri today, you should at least tell him, he deserves that much.”

maybe claude was right, but edelgard didn’t have time to think about it before the bell rang for their next class.

* * *

“you know you can’t avoid him forever,” claude tells edelgard, leaning back in the cafe chair. it had been four years since claude told her to at least _tell_ dimitri what was bothering her, and four years since she had a proper conversation with said blonde. it wasn’t like she didn’t want to, but the more time passed, the more nightmares about the war haunted her, “you’re twenty now, and you haven’t started a war like emperor edelgard.”

edelgard takes a sip of her tea, _chamomile._ normally she’d go for a different blend, but recently chamomile had been her go to. maybe it was the fact that it reminded her of simpler times with dimitri, or maybe it was because she really just needed it to calm down. either way, it got both of the jobs done.

“and i can’t keep bailing you out of things,” claude leans forward, “you and dimitri are in the same classes even now, how do you expect to keep avoiding him?” she hated to admit it, but claude had a point. somehow all three of them stayed together even in college, and her and dimitri decided to go on the path that would allow them to support their family businesses. claude had it harder than any of them, having to juggle his time between dimitri, edelgard, and his other friends.

hubert had told her to stop avoiding dimitri too. even though he wasn’t exactly friends with dimitri, he worried that edelgard’s dreams had gotten worse because of her avoiding him. he had known the most about her dreams, becoming an anchor for her whenever she had one of them. most of the time they never talked about her dreams and instead decided to talk about something else to get the guilty feeling off her chest. but recently, hubert had made it clear that dimitri might be the only one to help _stop_ said dreams.

“i’ll stop avoiding him,” she stated, and honestly, she wasn’t sure if that was more to convince herself or claude. it didn’t seem like claude believed her anyway, “if you really choose to not believe my words, claude, you can set up a meeting for us,” a part of her hoped that hubert was right, even if she was skeptical. claude looked content with her answer and he pulled out his phone.

“i’ll call dima right now!” before edelgard could stop him (because she didn’t mean _now_ ), he was already on the phone with dimitri, inviting him over. her head dropped in defeat. normally she was one to fight for when she was ready but honestly, it was hard to stop claude when he was on a mission (just like her) and if she kept stopping him until she was ready, a meeting with dimitri would _never_ happen. at least claude would be there with them, “i gotta get to class, edelgard, but dima will be here in five!”

“wait-” claude was already out the door before she could say anything else and she had half the mind to chase after him and force him to stay. it wasn’t like he was the best student with perfect attendance. but instead she slumped back in her chair, pulling out her phone to call hubert. the phone barely rang once before he picked up, greeting her, “hubert, can you move the meeting with my uncle to later tonight? i have an engagement i need to attend to.”

“of course, lady edelgard,” edelgard could feel her body go stiff slightly, she had told him to stop calling her that. whenever he called her that it reminded her that he was originally someone who was supposed to serve her. now, she wanted him to just be her friend instead of a protector, “i hope you don’t mind me asking, but what is this engagement? and what should i tell your uncle?”

edelgard debated telling hubert about her impromptu meeting with dimitri. normally she tells him everything, but when it comes to her friends separate from who he knew, she held back. even her meeting with claude was kept on the down-low since hubert didn’t favor claude too much (she couldn’t blame him though). of course, he would probably find out one way or another if it was dimitri, “i’m meeting with dimitri…” she paused, “just tell my uncle i’m studying for an upcoming exam.”

there was a long pause and edelgard had to check her phone to see if the call had accidentally dropped, “as you wish, lady edelgard,” she hears hubert say, followed by a few beeps, indicating that the call had ended. pulling her phone away from her ear, looking at the screen with distaste. she wasn’t exactly fond of being hung up on, especially since she had more to say, but if it was hubert, she wouldn’t stay mad at him for long.

“if you keep making that face, it’ll get stuck like that,” dimitri laughs, taking the seat across from her. it was off-putting how casual he was acting considering it had been a few years since they last caught up, but it was also so _dimitri._ he was always someone who could easily forgive, at least in her experience, “how have you been… el?” he hesitates before he says her nickname, one he had given her when they were young and one that he used when it was just them.

“ah,” edelgard doesn’t know what to say, eyes finding interest in the table in front of them. she tapped her fingers on the cup, taking a deep breath. it didn’t matter if she was ready or not because dimitri was in front of her already. she just needed to muster the courage she built up for years. use everything she had learned from her family business, because dimitri wasn’t any different from other businessmen she’s dealt with, right?

“are you okay?” _no,_ she wasn’t okay. because dimitri wasn’t like any other businessman she’s dealt with. he didn’t _care_ about her name, nor about her past. he just cared about her. and all she’s done is hurt him, pushed him away because of some nightmare that for all she knew might not be true.

“i’m fine,” she says cooly, bringing her eyes up to meet his. this was dimitri she was talking to, the first person who helped her and was really a friend, even if their friendship didn’t start there, “and i’m… sorry,” her voice was quiet, “i should’ve contacted you sooner,” there’s a silence that follows her words and a sense of uncomfortableness washes over her. why wasn’t he saying anything? his gaze had moved away from her, too, “dimitri—”

“i… forgive you,” dimitri interrupts, “or rather, i forgave you already,” he laughs, brushing some hairs out of his eyes, “but… i can’t say i wasn’t hurt,” edelgard feels a twinge of pain as dimitri gives her a sad smile, “you don’t have to tell me why if you prefer not to, i won’t force you,” even if he wanted to know. she knew he would never force her. because over the years together, instead of being best friends, they became like family.

“i had nightmares,” edelgard was quick to speak up, pushing herself to tell him. it felt weird to her, the uncertainty bubbling in her chest. normally, she spoke with such confidence, held herself up so well. but with dimitri now, all the walls she built around her so she wouldn’t be easily taken advantage of crumbled. the feeling she got around him now was something she hated. her hands gripped the cup tighter, “we were at war, you and me. and… i hurt you.”

“but it was a dream, right?” 

**Author's Note:**

> and that's it! i'll hopefully be able to get chapter 2 up within the next few months but i can't say for sure! i hope you all enjoyed and be prepared for more modern fics in this universe!


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